The Pharmacologic Basis of Psychotherapeutics

The traditional boundary lines within the professional practice of psychology are changing, and major practice issues, such as prescription and hospital admitting privileges for psychologists, need to be expediently and adequately addressed. As many psychologists have come to realize, appropriate pharmacotherapy can be a useful adjunct to psychotherapy. Even professionals who do not use psychotropics in their own practice require at least a minimum degree of knowledge about the effects of these drugs on their patients. For example, a school counselor with an understanding of anticonvulsant drugs or methylphenidate, may be better able to plan an optimal program for learning disabled child who uses these drugs. The Pharmacologic Basis of Psychotherapeutics starts with a brief history (written by guest author Patrick DeLeon) of the movement to obtain prescription privileges for psychologists, including the arguments on both sides of the issue. It then describes the various purported mechanisms by which psychotropic drugs elicit their effects in the human body. The various drugs are introduced, and the processes of absorption, distribution and elimination, as well as the influence of age and disease on these processes are also discussed. Attention is given to the methods of administration, adverse reactions, and drug interactions. Based on the authors' experience in teaching pharmacopsychology, this text reflects their concern that psychologists be provided with a reference source that is both pharmacologically correct and specifically relevant to the expanded professional practice of psychology. Because it assumes no prior knowledge of pharmacotherapy, this book is appropriate for the graduate psychology student or post-graduate psychologist in clinical practice. An Editorial Advisory Committee, comprised of distinguished academics, researchers, and clinical psychologists was established to help ensure that the focus and leveling of the book was appropriately directed to the needs and abilities of both graduate psychology students and psychologists.